Theo Johnson appeared in public despite having an infectious disease. His team responds to the confusion that has arisen.

The last game of the regular season is no longer important for the New York Giants. Long before Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, the team from the Big Apple had already been eliminated from the NFL playoffs.

Nevertheless, the team, or rather one player on the team, has been in the spotlight recently. Theo Johnson is officially out for the Giants’ last game of the season due to illness. However, that didn’t stop the tight end from watching the New York Knicks’ NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden on Friday. When a camera caught him and his face appeared on the video cube of the legendary arena, he waved cheerfully to the rest of the audience. There was no sign of illness. He himself posted on Instagram: “I’m not sick.”

Theo Johnson here at MSG for the Knicks game

He’s out for Sunday’s Giants game with an illness… pic.twitter.com/0PjjOBv2Qv

— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) January 3, 2026

New York Giants: Theo Johnson does not have a contagious infection

So why is the 24-year-old officially listed as ill by his team? The Giants’ response was not long in coming. They told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network that Johnson had contracted an infection. However, they said it was “neither the flu nor COVID.” According to them, there was no danger to himself or those around him.